NewOrleansSaints.com will showcase one reason a day to get excited about the start of the 2013 New Orleans Saints Training Camp presented by Verizon. Reason No. 5 – Darren Sproles

Darren Sproles came to New Orleans in 2011 after six seasons with the San Diego Chargers and has become one of the most versatile threats on offense and special teams in Saints franchise history.

The 5-foot-6, 190-pound all-purpose threat has been one of the NFL’s most dynamic players rushing, receiving and on kickoff and punt returns, recording a career total of 14,229 all-purpose yards. Since 2007, no player has matched his 12,533 all-purpose yards.

The eight-year veteran has appeared in 107 games with only 15 starts and has career totals of 384 carries for 2,001 yards (5.2 average) with nine touchdowns and recorded 307 receptions for 2,777 yards (9.0 average) with 25 touchdowns.

Sproles has returned 316 kickoffs for 8,041 yards (25.4 average) with two touchdowns and returned 166 punts for 1,412 yards (8.6 average) with three touchdowns. His five combined (kickoff and punt) return touchdowns are tied for sixth-most in NFL history since 2007.

Sproles appeared in 13 games with six starts in 2012 and carried 48 times for 244 yards (5.1 average) with one touchdown and had 75 receptions for 667 yards (8.9 average) with seven touchdowns. He ranked 17th in the NFL with 1,577 all-purpose yards, returning 23 punts for 183 yards (8.4 average) and 18 kickoffs for 483 yards (26.8 average).

Coach Sean Payton on Sproles (June 5, 2013):“We are trying to put a lot of guys in position to get the football, sometimes the defensive progression might take us to a certain player. Certain plays are designed for guys like Darren Sproles, Marques Colston, and Jimmy Graham; it’s part of the flow of the game. With Darren, he has a unique skill set, he’s sudden, I still see him as a valuable runner as well as a receiver, so it’s really having a vision for the defense in regards to what we are getting and how can we take advantage of that.”